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EPJ Web of Conferences

Vibrational and electronic ultrafast relaxation of the nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond

Vanessa M. Huxter, Thomas A. A. Oliver, Dmitry Budker, Graham R. Fleming

Published Jan 1, 2013• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Two dimensional electronic spectroscopy and transient grating measurements were performed, for the first time, on nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond. These measurements reveal energy transfer and vibrational pathways with consequences for spin coherence.
DOI
10.1051/epjconf/20134104009

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Abstract Many applications of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond crucially rely on a spectrally narrow and stable optical zero-phonon line transition. Though many impressive proof-of-principle experiments have been demonstrated, much work remains in engineering NV centers with spectral properties that are sufficiently robust for practical implementation. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying their interactions with the environment, we apply multi-dimensional coherent spectroscopy to an NV center ensemble in bulk diamond at cryogenic temperatures. Our spectra reveal thermal dephasing due to quasi-localized vibrational modes as well as ultrafast spectral diffusion on the picosecond timescale. The intrinsic, ensemble-averaged homogeneous linewidth is found to be in the tens of GHz range by extrapolating to zero temperature. We also observe a temperature-dependent Stark splitting of the excited state manifold, relevant to NV sensing protocols.